Morning Travel Help?

[Chevross]

I've got a bit of a situation I could use some help with. My mother is attending a conference at Disney World soon and as such, we and the family decided to make a vacation out of it. However, when scheduling her routine we discovered a little problem. We booked at Port Orleans and her conference is at the Grand Floridian. It begins at 8 a.m. The monorails do not operate until an hour before a parks opening, which would mean they do not run until 8 a.m. if I'm reading correctly. The same pretty much applies for the buses as well. She kind of wanted to avoid driving to the Grand Floridian and the taxi, but this is looking to be her only option. Two of those days have early morning hours, which should mean the buses and monorail run earlier and thus be good, but that first day is troubling. Is there another traveling option we are missing, which would allow her to arrive before 8 a.m.? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[iluvMainStMagic]

I understand not wanting to drive to the GF, letting the buses get me where I want to go is something I really enjoy while at WDW, however, it sounds like that might the most efficient way for her to get to the GF - unless you were planning to drive to the parks while she is at her conference. She would have to leave pretty early to get a bus to MK and then take the Monorail to the GF, especially since you never know about the wait-time for each one.
Fortunately, the PO resorts are fairly close to the MK area, so (I hope) the taxi fare wouldn't be too expensive, and she could use the monorail & bus to get back to your resort. I have never used it, but there is now another option for a car service, Uber, that sounds like it might be less expensive than a typical taxi. Maybe that would work for her.
If she decided to drive to the GF, it would be a good idea to be sure she can get an all-day parking pass there. Surely that issue comes up often, and they have them for conference attendees. Otherwise, I think only guests staying there, and guests with ADR's at a GF restaurant (who get a parking pass only good for 2-3hrs), are allowed to park there. Better to know ahead! Good luck on figuring out what will work best for your family, I'm glad you have at least a little time to work on it before you get there.

Congratulations on such a great family vacation! So sorry your mother won't be able to enjoy the parks with you Hopefully she will at least be able to have some park time in the evenings. Have a wonderful time!!!

 

[Master Yoda]

Transportation "officially" starts running one hour before the parks open, but they actually start running a good bit earlier. She should be able to catch a bus to MK and then take either the monorail or boat to GF and make it there by 8.

That being said, GF is quite literally around the corner for the Port Orleans resorts with most of the turns being of the "take a left when the road ends" variety.

I will take nearly and hour to get there via Disney Transportation. The drive is 10 minutes tops.

 

[ninjaprincesst]

There are character breakfast buses that start running around 6:45 to 7:00 and the resort monorail beam starts at 7:00.